Museum of AranCarrer Major, 26. Vielha.25530 Vielha Tel. 973 641 815info.museu@aran.org

The Museum of Aran has a small exhibition space which explains the role played by the Val d'Aran in the evasion of hundreds of Jewish refugees who fled to the Iberian Peninsula from France in order to escape from the war.

05

Cerda

nya

04

La Noguera Pallaresa

Pantà de la Torrassa

Estany Romedo de Baix

Llavorsí

Tavascan

Ribera de Cardós

Rialp

França

Vall d

e Card

ós

Sort

Pallars Sobirà

Port de Guiló

PARC NATURALDE L'ALT PIRINEU

S E R R A D E L C A D Í

PARC NATURAL DEL CADÍ-MOIXERÓ

Les Valls de Valira

Alt UrgellEstamariu

Bescaran

Coll de Pimés

Andorra

Cerdanya

S E R R A D E L C A D Í

Lles de Cerdanya

Montellà i Martinet

Aransa

Port de Perafita

Estanys de la Pera

PARC NATURAL DEL CADÍ-MOIXERÓ

Andorra

03Val d'Aran

Pantà d'Escales

Pantà de Baserca

Eth Garona

La No

guera

Riba

gorça

na

Túnel de Vielha

Vilaller

Bossòst

Les

Arties

Betren

Baquèira

Es Bòrdes

Canejan

Pònt de Rei

Port deraBonaigua

Montgarri

França

PARC NACIONALD'AIGÜESTORTES

I ESTANY DE SANT MAURICI

El Pontde Suert

Vielha

AltaRibagorça

Senet

Salardú Pla de Beret

01Va

l d’Ara

n - A

lta

Riba

gorç

a

Pallar

s So

birà

Alt U

rgell

Val d’Aran - Alta RibagorçaThe Val d'Aran was one of the main entry routes for refugees, both via the cus-toms office at Eth Pònt de Rei and the mountain paths leading from the French departments of Haute-Garonne and Ariège which took them to Es Bòrdes, Bossòst, Bausen, Les, Canejan or Montgarri. They then headed southward via the Bonaigua pass or walked to L’Alta Ribagorça.

ExHiBiTion sPACE (PALLARs JUssÀ)ExHiBiTion sPACE

MUsEUM sPACE

siGnPosTEd PoinTs oF inTEREsTTavascan Tavascan was the first vil-lage on the Catalan side of the route which began in the Garbet valley of Ariège. The Guardia Civil patrolled all of the paths leading from France and detained most of the refugees who crossed this area. After remaining in the village for a few days, they were then transferred to the prison in Sort.

Ribera de Cardós Some of the groups of refu-

gees who managed to reach the Cardós valley with the help of guides stayed at the local hotel.

LlavorsíGiven its strategic location within El Pallars Sobirà, at the junction of the roads from the Vallferrera, the Cardós valley and Esterri d'Àneu, Llavorsí became an assembly point for the different groups of detain-ees who were to be trans-ferred to Sort.

Sort Dozens of Jews who had been transferred to Sort stayed at the Hotel Pessets. The Red Cross and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee covered the cost of their stay at this establishment; this was much more com-fortable and peaceful than that endured by those locked up in the munici-pality's small prison.

Bescaran Bescaran was the first Catalan village that ref-ugees reached. It had a Guardia Civil barracks that was responsible for polic-ing the paths that led from the Principality of Andorra.

Estamariu The refugees who man-aged to avoid arrest reached Estamariu, from where they used to go through the Cadí sierra and then head on to Barcelona. Others followed

the route via La Seu d'Urgell and the River Segre valley.

La Seu d’Urgell La Seu d'Urgell was the town to which those detained in L'Alt Urgell and part of La Cerdanya in Lleida province were driven. Once there, they were held at the prison of the judicial district, which was housed in the former convent of Sant Domènec, until they were transferred to the city of Lleida. Some refugees were able to stay

at the Andria and Mundial hotels and therefore avoid imprisonment. Those who arrived with symptoms of physical exhaustion, who had suffered accidents along the way, or who were suf-fering from frostbite due to the cold and snow, were attended to at the Sant Hospital. Others secretly remained in La Seu d'Urgell until they were able to travel to Barcelona with the help of the evasion networks.

Aransa Located at an altitude of 1,470 metres, this is the first settlement after crossing the frontier pass.

Lles Lles was the point where several different routes from the Principality of Andorra converged in La Cerdanya. They were often used by

smugglers, but during the Second World War they were extensively used as escape routes by those who had been persecuted in Europe dur-ing the war.

Martinet Martinet was the place where refugees started the second part of the escape journeys that were to take them to Barcelona via one

of the different routes that followed the rivers Segre and Llobregat or which crossed the sierra of Cadí. There was also a Guardia Civil barracks there, to which those detained by the guards patrolling the paths near the Andorran border were taken before they were trans-ferred to the prison in La Seu d'Urgell.

Pallars Sobirà Alt Urgell CerdanyaThe main escape route for the Jewish refugees who fled from the French depart-ment of Ariège began in Aulus-les-Bains and led to El Pallars sobirà via Mount Lladorre and the Guiló pass. The shepherds' cottages and the mountain shelters of Lladorre were used as places where refugees could rest after exhausting treks dur-ing which they were constantly persecuted. The majority, however, were captured by the agents of the Guardia Civil who patrolled all the paths leading from France. The signposted route starts at the Guiló pass (2,371 m), from where it runs down to the Romedo de Baix pool. After passing the Llurri cottage, it reaches the Pla de la Borda shelter, at Boavi, and then follows the course of the river Lladorre to the village of Tavascan, before continuing southwards to sort via Ribera de Cardós, Llavorsí and Rialp.

L'Alt Urgell was the main escape route for Jewish refugees from the Principality of Andorra who followed the mountain paths that led to what is now the municipal-ity of Valls de Valira. Andorra was one of the main passing points for refugees who sought to reach Barcelona either by crossing the Cadí sierra or via La seu d'Urgell and various evasion networks operated there to great effect. several dif-ferent escape routes were used and the one that runs from La Rabassa to Bescaran via the Pimés pass and the rural shelters of Pudovern has now been signposted. it then goes on to Estamariu before arriving at La seu d'Urgell via the neighbour-hood of sant Antoni.

Hundreds of Jews secretly arrived in La Cerdanya from the Principality of Andorra, via the mountain passes of Claror, Perafita, La Portella and Vallcivera. Their objec-tive was to reach Barcelona via the sierra of Cadí, La seu d'Urgell or the River Llobregat valley.

The route which starts from Escaldes Engordany (Andorra) and crosses the Perafita pass has now been signposted. once in Catalonia, it runs down to the La Pera pools and then on to Arànser, Lles, Travesseres and Martinet. This was the shortest route between Andorra and La Cerdanya and crossed large areas of forest, which made it easier to pass unseen.

siGnPosTEd PoinTs oF inTEREsT

siGnPosTEd PoinTs oF inTEREsT

siGnPosTEd PoinTs oF inTEREsT

EpicentreCentre de Visitants del Pallars JussàPg. del Vall núm. 13, TrempTel. 973 653 470epicentre@pallarsjussa.cat

The Epicentre visitors’ centre of Tremp has a small exhibition space which explains the role played by the Val d'Aran in the evasion of hundreds of Jewish refugees who fled to the Iberian Peninsula from France in order to escape from the war. The prison of Tremp housed several groups of refuges who had arrived from L'Alta Ribagorça and Sort before they were transferred to Lleida.

ExHiBiTion sPACEEspai Ermengolcarrer Major, 825700 La Seu d’UrgellTel. 973 353 057

The Espai Ermengol has a small exhibition space which explains the role played by L'Alt Urgell in the evasion of hundreds of Jewish refugees who fled to the Iberian Peninsula from France in order to escape from the war.

“Perseguits i Salvats” (Per-secuted and Saved) Prison MuseumPlaça Sant Eloi, 8. Sort.Tel. 973 620 010 turisme@sort.cat

The refugees detained in the mountain passes of El Pallars Sobirà and the majority of those who had been captured in the Val d'Aran were driven to Sort before then being transferred to prisons in the city of Lleida. Sort had two prisons: one for men and another for women, both of which were small in size. They both suffered problems of overcrowding and a lack of adequate hygiene, with the prisoners receiving very lit-tle food. Between 1939 and 1944, around 2,660 prisoners who had been detained while trying to secretly cross the frontier passed through Sort; many of them were of Jewish origin. The women, who were often accompanied by very young children, were locked up in the women's prison, which used to hold about 150 detainees at a time in those years. After spending a few days at Sort, they were all transferred to Lleida, although some groups also passed through the prison of the judicial district of Tremp. The prison, which had once been a gothic-style chapel, has been conserved just as it was at the time of the Second World War. This is the only heritage site in Spain that maintains the memory of this historic phenomenon. Since 2007, a small museum space has been prepared to publicise these events and to pay tribute to both those who escaped persecution and those who helped them to obtain their freedom via the mountain passes of the Pyrenees.

Pont de Rei The customs office at Eth Pònt de Rei became a point of arrival for those seeking to enter Spain with all their papers in order. After passing the police control, they headed for cities from which ships could take them to the coun-tries to which they wished to emigrate. From the mid-dle of 1940 onwards, this was the point from which doz-ens of Jews captured in Aran and El Pallars Sobirà were expelled from the country. After November 1942, and until the liberation of the south of France in August 1944, German border guards replaced the French gen-darmes guarding the frontier. Canejan H u n d r e d s o f p e o p l e arrived at Canejan by dif-ferent paths leading from the French department of Haute- Garonne. In 1943 alone, about 500 refu-gees were detained by the Guardia Civil; many of them were Jews. Les Les was the main point of arrival for escaping Jews, whether they came via the customs office at Eth Pònt de Rei or had secretly crossed the neighbouring mountain passes (Còth de Fontfreda and Passada de Tres Corts) to get there. Les housed the police station responsible for checking passports and merchandise. Many escap-ing Jews received the help and solidarity of the local people, some of whom took them into their homes, while others were allowed to stay at the Hotel Franco-Español.

Bossòst Bossòst had a particularly special role as a point of arrival for the different routes from the French village of Bagnères-de-

Luchon that passed through the Portilhon and Còth de Baretja passes. In 1943, more than 600 escapees were detained in the Portilhon pass alone; many of them were Jews.

Es Bòrdes Various routes from Haute-Garonne arrived at Es Bòrdes via the mountain passes of Benasque, Dera Picada, Escaleta and Montjòia. T h e s e p a t h s b e t w e e n France and Aran had served by local citizens for cen-turies and had also been used as smuggling routes. The chapel of Artiga de Lin was one of the places where refugees could remain hid-den and escape the atten-tion of the Guardia Civil.

Montgarri Despite its isolation as a result of winter snows, Montgarri received many expeditions of Jews fleeing along the paths that led from Ariège. In 1944, various groups of young Jews reached Montgarri having crossed the moun-tains through the area near Mont Valier.

Vielha Most of those detained in the Val d'Aran were trans-ferred to Vielha and then held in the small prison of the local judicial district. Others were accommodated in the Internacional, Serrano and Turrull hotels. At the Hospital of Vielha, they were treated for injuries suffered in mountain accidents and/or for symptoms of frostbite caused by the cold and snow.

The Bonaigua Pass The only road leading out of the Val d’Aran to the south ran through the Bonaigua pass. It was along this route that detainees were trans-ferred to Lleida, usually making a stop at Sort along the way. The only road lead-ing out of the Val d’Aran to the south ran through the Bonaigua pass.

The Vielha Tunnel Although the two ends of the Vielha tunnel were connected in 1941, it did not officially open until 1948. Some refu-gees managed to secretly cross the tunnel with the aid of those working on it. Although the route taking the detainees to Lleida crossed the Bonaigua pass, the Guardia Civil some-times forced groups to cross the tunnel to Vilaller on foot before continuing the jour-ney to Lleida.

Senet Some groups of refugees reached Senet after secretly abandoning the Val d'Aran on foot, via the Vielha pass.

Vilaller The Guardia Civil concen-trated some groups of cap-tives at Vilaller after cross-ing the Vielha tunnel on foot. They were then transferred to Tremp and Lleida.

El Pont de Suert The refugees who were cap-tured in L’Alta Ribagorça and those who were transferred from the Val d’Aran used to be taken to El Pont de Suert, from where they were taken to Lleida by a coach service which charged for the trip.

GPS route

17km 20.5km

$ $

GPS route GPS route

42°43’9.47”n01°20’14.26”E

42°50’54.48”n00°44’7.59”E

42°42’10.79”n00°47’35.70”E

42°25’57.87”n01°32’20.85”E

42°27’54.35”n01°35’38.66”E

Beginning of the route

Beginning of the itinerary 1

Beginning of the itinerary 2 & 3

Beginning of the route

Beginning of the route

Q

Y Y60 km

iTinERARy 01

25.1km

iTinERARy 02

14km

iTinERARy 03

ROUTE 01: VAL d’ARAn –ALTA RiBAGORçA

iTinERARy 01: POnT dE REi - POnT dE SUERT PonT dE REi - CAnEJAn - LEs - BossòsT - Es BòRdEs - ViELHA - ViELHA TUnnEL - sEnET - ViLALLER - PonT dE sUERT (ALL By CAR)

iTinERARy 02: ViELhA - MOnTGARRi ViELHA - BETREn - EsCUnHAU - CAsARiLH - GARòs - ARTiEs - sALARdú - TREdòs - BAqUEiRA - *PLA dE BERET - *MonTGARRi. (*sTRETCH By 4x4)

iTinERARy 03: ViELhA - BOnAiGUA ViELHA - BETREn - EsCUnHAU - CAsARiLH - GARòs - ARTiEs - sALARdú - TREdòs - BAqUEiRA - BonAiGUA PAss

ROUTE 03: GUiLÓ PASS - SORT

GUiLÓ PAss - RoMEdo dE BAix PooL - LLURRi CoTTAGE - LA BoRdA CoTTAGE - BoAVi - MonTALTo - BoRdEs d'ARTAMonT - TAVAsCAn - RiBERA dE CARdÓs - LLAVoRsÍ - RiALP – soRT

ROUTE 04: PiMÉS PASS - LA SEU d'URGELL

PiMés PAss - BEsCARAn - EsTAMARiU - LA sEU d’URGELL

ROUTE 05: PERAFiTA - MARTinET

PERAFiTA PAss - LA PERA LAkEs - ARAnsA - LLEs - MARTinET

View

of Lin

from

the v

illage

of Le

s.©

Xav

ier G

ómez

. The

Rater

a Poo

l. Aigü

estor

tes N

ation

al Pa

rk.

Climb

up to

the E

stany

de Ro

medo

de D

alt po

ol

Pla de

la B

orda.

© Ph

oto ce

ded b

y the

Loca

l Dist

rict A

rchive

of El

Palla

rs So

birà.

Sort

Priso

n. El

Palla

rs So

birà.

Borde

s de P

udov

ern (B

esca

ran)

© Pl

ando

lit. La

Seu

- Ave

nue -

Hote

l And

ria

Llirt

Roca

de Pi

mes (

Ando

rra)

© H

istori

cal s

ource

. Aud

iovisu

al Se

rvice

of th

e IEI.

Area

arou

nd La

Seu

d'Ur

gell.

© Ll

uís M

arià V

idal i

Carre

ras. M

artine

t view

ed fr

om th

e path

to th

e Araj

ol pla

in.

Gran

Plan

ell w

eir.

Large

pool

at La

Pera.

Moun

tain m

eado

ws of

Lles

de Ce

rdany

a.

Era Garona

La Noguera Pallaresa

Pantà de la Torrassa

Alós d’Isil

Refugi de Fornet

Pont de Perosa

Pòrt de Gireta

França

Vall d’Àneu

Montgarri

Val d'Aran

Pallars Sobirà

Vielha

Esterri d'Àneu

Refugi de Fornet

02

Val d’Aran - Pallars Sobiràone of the most popular escape routes was the one that ran between the French department of Ariège and the Val d'Aran, via the Gireta pass (2,593 m). in 1944, it facilitated the escape of several groups of Jews who managed to reach Catalonia thanks to the help of the escape networks created by the French Resistance in the south of France.

The route started from near saint-Girons (Ariège) and ran down to Montgarri, after crossing the Gireta pass. The refugees then continued on towards El Pallars sobirà, following a path running parallel to the River noguera Pallaresa, first arriving at the rural shelters of Perosa and then at Alós d'isil.

s iGnPosTEd PoinTs oF inTEREsTMontgarri Located at an altitude of 1,645 metres, and isolated for much of the year, this small settlement, which has a Romanesque-style shrine. It had a small hostel where those escaping could rest and regain their strength after long days walking through the snow and suffering the cold and persecution of the German police.

Bridge of Perosa At this point, expeditions could make contact with

other groups that had entered El Pallars Sobirà directly via the Pala de Clavera Salau passes. Those fleeing rested in rural shelters near the River Noguera Pallaresa before going on to Alós d'Isil.

Fornet A point half-way along the route between Montgarri and Alós d'Isil.

Alós d'isil The majority of those try-ing to escape were caught

by members of the Spanish Guardia Civil who patrolled the mountain paths; they were then taken to the bar-racks at Alós d'Isil. They usu-ally spent a couple of days there before being moved first to Esterri d'Àneu and then to Sort, where they were either kept in the judicial district prison or housed in hotels.

GPS route

23.3 km

$

42°47’12.35”n01°2’17.23 ”E

Beginningof the route

Y

ROUTE 02: GiRETA PASS – ALÓS d’iSiL GiRETA PAss - MonTGARRi - PERosA BRidGE - FoRnET MoUnTAin sHELTER - ALÓs d’isiL

© H

istori

c sou

rce. A

udio-

visua

l Serv

ice of

the I

EI. O

utskir

ts of

Ester

ri d'Àn

eu (1

922)

.©

Anse

lm Ro

s. Mo

ntgarr

i©

Porta

colle

ction

. Aud

io-vis

ual S

ervice

of th

e IEI.

Alós

d'Isi

l.

© An

selm

Ros.

Rural

shelt

ers of

Isil.

© An

selm

Ros-.

Gire

ta Pa

ss

© An

selm

Ros.

Frenc

h mou

ntains

from

Gire

ta

Val d'A

ran -

Pal

lars

Sob

irà

15km

$

Y